U.S. Ladies [#18]: These Boots Are Made for Skating

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Holy smokes, Karen was awesome! It might be weird to say this, but I feel like that brief stint with SOI in the spring solidified her as a champion in her own head. You could tell she was soaking in the applause/attention/adoration during the show and I feel like the audience was giving her the go ahead to own her awesome. I really felt like her performance at Glacier was her owning the ice. Brava!
 
clairecloutier said:
All 4 of the American ladies' videos that @UMBS Go Blue took at Glacier Falls. (Thanks @UMBS Go Blue.)

Karen Chen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS8FlD4yQ18

Kaitlyn Nguyen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3AJMKuWo3Q

Polina Edmunds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXqrOg4XZkg

Caroline Zhang
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6REWVwyt_EY


Karen's SP is WOW. Seriously, I could see her placing top 3 in any SP if she hits her jumps in this program. A little bit :rolleyes: at criticisms of her speed--seriously? It's July. Skaters are really far from their peak conditioning at this point. That step sequence is just going to get better & better, and to be frank, it's already pretty great. I thought her speed was very good for this point of the year, and her ice coverage and power in the step sequence was outstanding (especially compared to the other girls' videos). A winner of a program, I've already watched it twice. :D

I really like Polina's program too. The powerful, spare music really works and shows off her height to advantage IMO. Obviously she's still got a way to go with her conditioning and jumps, but I'm glad to see her back and i think it has potential.

Caroline is lovely, but I watched her program right after Karen's, and the difference in speed/power was like night & day.

Wish I could get more excited about Kaitlin. But there just isn't that much there yet, aside from her jumps. She is so tiny & underpowered compared to the senior girls. And I'm really not sure how competitive she's going to be on the JGP circuit, either, against the Japanese girls, who as a group tend to have much stronger skating skills, or against the Russian girls, who tend to have much more presence & also stronger spins. I guess we will find out very soon, though.
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Kaitlyn Nguyen is almost a decade younger then some of the girls she skated against here and she's only 13. Of course she's small and not powerful yet in her skating what did you expect? The fact is you need the jumps if you are going to be competitive at the Junior level and the other things like power and skating skills will come along as she matures and gets older.
 
Jozet said:
Holy smokes, Karen was awesome! It might be weird to say this, but I feel like that brief stint with SOI in the spring solidified her as a champion in her own head. You could tell she was soaking in the applause/attention/adoration during the show and I feel like the audience was giving her the go ahead to own her awesome. I really felt like her performance at Glacier was her owning the ice. Brava!
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Yup! There's nothing like sprouting oodles of confidence with a touring show and coming back to own and fully express your talent on competition ice. Yay Karen! Plus it's not like she's never before displayed such power and command. It just went missing-in-action for her a bit during some growing pains seasons.
15-yr-old Karen senior Nationals debut, killing it and winning bronze:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhfQE6hAsY0 sp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9fRO0vEjac Godfather fp
Such attack, speed, expressiveness and command. She's got it back!

There are so many skaters who absolutely blossomed in touring shows and on the pro circuit (when there was one). :(

But I'm all smiles at the moment for a bevy of U.S. ladies. :) :D :cheer2:
 
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Jozet said:
Holy smokes, Karen was awesome! It might be weird to say this, but I feel like that brief stint with SOI in the spring solidified her as a champion in her own head. You could tell she was soaking in the applause/attention/adoration during the show and I feel like the audience was giving her the go ahead to own her awesome. I really felt like her performance at Glacier was her owning the ice. Brava!
Click to expand...
She was amazing in that show
 
Love what I see from Karen and Polina so far.

Karen has the best coverage and speed/ power out of all the ladies there (bar is low since her biggest competitor is Caroline...), some amazing spins to go with the big music, huge jumps (that axel-sal is incredible) and well timed spirals. I hope there will be more transitions come September and October, and she has to find a way to hold that beautiful ina bauer for longer in both programs.

Polina's skating is so beautiful to look at, the same way Carolina's has been since 2011. So statuesque. Her front-loading may be a problem even if she finds her jumps again in the next few months.
 
I finally got around to watching the Skate Detroit ladies videos.

I really like Mirai's Miss Saigon! :) I know some people have questioned this music for her. But I think the final product is terrific. The tone of the music is rather grand, but not very emotional or dramatic; this suits Mirai's restrained style. I think the choreography by Jeff Buttle is effective. Mirai looks much more elegant here than in most of her recent free skates, and Jeff makes much, much better use of her arms than most of her choreographers. (IMO.) Plus the actual transitional steps seem more difficult than some of her other programs (especially last year's free skate). I really like it--I think this could be her best LP, maybe, since 2010. (I did like Great Gatsby, but this LP is more coherent.) It looks like she's still getting comfortable with the choreo; once it becomes fluent, it could be great. Her triple Axel is exciting; her double Axel in the 2A/3T is so high. The end of the program seems really impressively hard--the Ina Bauer into back loop turns into triple loop, followed directly by her Biellmann spin. If she hits that whole sequence, she will have the judges' respect. Still love her Chopin SP, too.

Courtney Hicks's "Amazing Grace" LP was also great, I thought. Such a smart move for Courtney to use this music for the Olympic year. Several times, I've seen her skate her exhibition to this music live, and it's always been amazing. The simplicity of the music works for her style. I feel like this music both inspires and relaxes her a little bit. Her jumps were fairly consistent at Skate Detroit, and as always her speed & power is great. I feel like the "La Califfa" SP is a bit of a stretch for her artistically; but with more practice, it should work.

Nice to see them both looking so good!!
 
kittysk8ts said:
Observation from a Canadian: US women are looking seriously good early in the season. These Boots are Made for Skating alright and I am over here shaking in mine. LOL.
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:lol: There's no need for that really. I think fans of every skater in every discipline will be holding their breath and crossing their fingers. It's a tough battle this season, particularly in ladies. If the judges would stop coddling and PCS over-gifting certain skaters who are tough competitors and basically fast rotators, it would be a more evenhanded battle for gold as well. :D

From what I've seen of Gabby's Carmen sp so far, I think she's looking strong and confident. I'm not sure about the Black Swan program for Kaetlyn but some of the clips look like she's training well and with confidence. I haven't seen anything of Kaetlyn's sp to Summertime, but I think Gabby will be a great Gladiator! I think Gabby should get more credit than she's been getting up against Kaetlyn. Anyway, the Olympic season battle will soon be on! We just have to get through the remaining dog days of summer and early fall with some patience. :p

We can speculate on paper but anything and everything is possible, particularly among singles ladies and men this coming season. I really do not think even Hanyu and Med should be counting their golden chickens right about now. ;)
 
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Yeah I'm not sure I would be shaking just yet. :lol: but thank you for the ego boost. Although the Canadian ladies are just as likely to eat it and biff their program. :)

You never know what you're going to get with the NA ladies skaters, we're just full of surprises!
 
So who are the contenders for the Olympics? The front runners are: Ashley, Karen, Mirai, Gracie (depending on how she skates throughout the season). Polina remains to be seen.
Who are dark horses other than Mariah?
 
coppertop1 said:
So who are the contenders for the Olympics? The front runners are: Ashley, Karen, Mirai, Gracie (depending on how she skates throughout the season). Polina remains to be seen.
Who are dark horses other than Mariah?
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Other dark horses are Bradie, Tessa, and Courtney, who's looking strong this year. It's hard to make a list before the official season starts. I'll come back to the list after a few challenger series are done.
 
Re-posting from earlier - the 8 U.S. senior ladies entered in the Philadelphia international competition this week are:
Karen Chen
Franchesca Chiera
Amber Glenn
Courtney Hicks
Tessa Hong (her senior international debut)
Bradie Tennell
Angela Wang
Starr Andrews (her senior international debut; JGP debut will be in Austria)

2 are entered in the junior international:
Paige Rydberg (to get her TES minimums)
Ting Cui (JGP debut will be in Australia)

Asian Open Trophy in Hong Kong this week:
Junior: Hanna Harrell & Audrey Shin
Adv. Novice: Alysa Liu & Stephanie Ciarochi

Current top 10 club competition scores (senior) this summer:

Karen Chen 218.09 (Glacier Falls)
Bradie Tennell 190.76 (Broadmoor Open)
Courtney Hicks 187.42 (Skate Detroit)
Mirai Nagasu* 187.31 (Skate Detroit)
Caroline Zhang 182.67 (Glacier Falls)
Starr Andrews 174.16 (L.A. Open)
Emmy Ma 171.34 (Glacier Falls)
Kaitlyn Nguyen 169.82 (Glacier Falls)
Vivian Le 168.11 (Glacier Falls)
Ashley Lin 162.81 (Broadmoor Open)

*Note: Nagasu scored 205.93 at the Denver Invitational in March using her 2016-17 long program; her Skate Detroit score now is included above because she debuted her 2017-18 free skate there.
 
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Courtney, Bradie, and Starr could be somewhere in the realm of contending also.
 
Starr is aiming for the team, as she said in her recent FSO interview.

FSO: What are some of your goals this off-season on the technical side, as well as program components? What are your goals for the upcoming season?

SA: I am hoping to land my triple Axel and to start working on my quad Salchow. My (dream) goal for the upcoming season is to take my place on the Olympic team. I would also like to my emotion to be even more dramatic in my programs.
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You gotta think big, right? ;)
 
Karpenko said:
Yeah I'm not sure I would be shaking just yet. :lol: but thank you for the ego boost. Although the Canadian ladies are just as likely to eat it and biff their program. :)

You never know what you're going to get with the NA ladies skaters, we're just full of surprises!
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I am quite proud of and impressed by our NA ladies these days!
 
Reading discussion about whether Am./Can. ladies can produce. The situation has changed I'm happy to say as of late. In the end of 2014 and in 2015 the Russians were so dominant and Myahara was leading the charge of the new Japanese. NA seemed nearly irrelevant, at least at GS. The Canadians didn't have a reliable star and Gracie/Ash couldn't put 2 clean programs together to save their lives.

Look at the 2 last worlds. 2016 - NA in 2&4. 2017 NA - 2, 3, 4. I think that NA skating has extolled balance over pure athleticism(Jumpanism). Beautiful line, expression and athleticism is still the gold standard - and, I think the judges agree. Admit not being a fan and believe Med could be taken. If Kaitlyn, Mirai or others came out roaring like a 2015 Tuk the plot for Med world domination could be foiled.
 
Wyliefan said:
Has any skater ever made an Olympic team in a year where he or she skated junior internationally and senior only at home?
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Polina Edmunds qualified and placed 4th at the JGP Final in December 2013 and then won the silver in her senior national debut in 2014.

ETA:

Current top 10 club competition scores (junior) this summer:

Alysa Liu* 168.70 (SoCal Interclub) - competing Adv. Novice in Hong Kong this week
Ashley Lin 166.40 (Cannon Texas Open)
Audrey Shin 165.78 (Glacier Falls) - competing Jr. in Hong Kong this week
Akari Nakahara 156.02 (Glacier Falls)
Hanna Harrell 152.35 (Skate Dallas) - competing Jr. in Hong Kong this week
Jenna Shi 148.60 (Skate Detroit)
Emma Coppess 147.59 (Glacier Falls)
Pooja Kalyan 146.28 (Skate Detroit)
Analise Lin Gonzalez 145.98 (Glacier Falls)
Lily Sun Peninsula SC 143.62 (Glacier Falls)

*Alysa Liu will turn 12 next week and won’t be ISU Junior age-eligible until the 2019-20 season.

Top scoring Novice lady this summer is Stephanie Ciarochi 148.96 (Cannon Texas Open) - competing in Adv. Novice in Hong Kong this week
 
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Sylvia said:
Re-posting from earlier - the 8 U.S. senior ladies entered in the Philadelphia international competition this week are:
Karen Chen
Franchesca Chiera
Amber Glenn
Courtney Hicks
Tessa Hong (her senior international debut)
Bradie Tennell
Angela Wang
Starr Andrews (her senior international debut; JGP debut will be in Austria)

2 are entered in the junior international:
Paige Rydberg (to get her TES minimums)
Ting Cui (JGP debut will be in Australia)

Asian Open Trophy in Hong Kong this week:
Junior: Hanna Harrell & Audrey Shin
Adv. Novice: Alysa Liu & Stephanie Ciarochi

Current top 10 club competition scores (senior) this summer:

Karen Chen 218.09 (Glacier Falls)
Bradie Tennell 190.76 (Broadmoor Open)
Courtney Hicks 187.42 (Skate Detroit)
Mirai Nagasu* 187.31 (Skate Detroit)
Caroline Zhang 182.67 (Glacier Falls)
Starr Andrews 174.16 (L.A. Open)
Emmy Ma 171.34 (Glacier Falls)
Kaitlyn Nguyen 169.82 (Glacier Falls)
Vivian Le 168.11 (Glacier Falls)
Ashley Lin 162.81 (Broadmoor Open)

*Note: Nagasu scored 205.93 at the Denver Invitational in March using her 2016-17 long program; her Skate Detroit score now is included above because she debuted her 2017-18 free skate there.
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:rollin: Exciting comps coming up! :biggrinbo Great lineups! A must-see!

Thanks for the info, @Sylvia.
 
We went by Ice Works last night to check in for the non-Internatinal portion of Philly. Some of the vendors there told us the Japanese ladies team had already arrived for the International event. It will be an exciting week ahead!
 
concorde said:
We went by Ice Works last night to check in for the non-Internatinal portion of Philly. Some of the vendors there told us the Japanese ladies team had already arrived for the International event. It will be an exciting week ahead!
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Team Japan is here? Why? They're not competing. Training, maybe?
 
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